MS. CROWLEY: Gentlemen, thank you
both for joining us here tonight. We have a lot of folks who have
been waiting all day to talk to you, so I want to get right to it.
Governor Romney, as you know, you won the coin toss, so the first
question will go to you. And I want to turn to a first-time voter,
Jeremy Epstein, who has a question for you.

Q: Mr. President,
Governor Romney, as a 20-year-old college student, all I hear from
professors, neighbors and others is that when I graduate I'll have
little chance to get employment. What can you say to reassure me,
but more importantly, my parents, that I will be able to
sufficiently support myself after I graduate?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you, Jeremy. I appreciate your question. And thank you for being
here this evening. And to all of those from Nassau County here that
have come, thank you for your time. Thank you to Hofstra University
and to Candy Crowley for organizing and leading this event.

Thank you, Mr.
President, also for being part of this debate.

Your question is one
that's being asked by college kids all over this country. I was in
Pennsylvania with someone who had just graduated. This was in
Philadelphia -- and she said I've got my degree, I can't find a
job. I've got three part-time jobs; theyíre just barely enough to
pay for my food and pay for an apartment. I can't begin to pay back
my student loans.

So what we have to do is
two things. We have to make sure that we make it easier for kids to
afford college, and also make sure that when they get out of college
thereís a job. When I was governor of Massachusetts, to get a high
school degree you had to pass an exam. If you graduated in the top
quarter of your class, we gave you a John and Abigail Adams
scholarship -- four years tuition-free to the college of your choice
in Massachusetts that's a public institution.

I want to make sure we
keep our Pell Grant program growing. We're also going to have our
loan program so that people are able to afford school. But the key
thing is to make sure you can get a job when you get out of school.
And whatís happened over the last four years has been very, very
hard for Americaís young people.

I want you to be able to
get a job. I know what it takes to get this economy going. With
half of college kids graduating this year without a college --
excuse me -- without a job and without a college-level job, thatís
just unacceptable. And likewise, you got more and more debt on your
back. So more debt and less jobs. I'm going to change that. I
know what it takes to create good jobs again. I know what it takes
to make sure that you have the kind of opportunity you deserve.

And kids across this
country are going to recognize we're bringing back an economy. Itís
not going to be like the last four years. The middle class has been
crushed over the last four years. And jobs have been too scarce. I
know what it takes to bring them back, and I'm going to do that and
make sure when you graduate -- when do you graduate?

Q: 2014.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: 2014.
When you come out in 2014, I presume I'm going to be President --
I'm going to make sure you get a job. Thanks, Jeremy.

Q: Thank you.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yeah,
you bet.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President.

THE PRESIDENT: Jeremy,
first of all, your future is bright. And the fact that youíre making
an investment in higher education is critical not just to you, but
to the entire nation. Now, the most important thing we can do is to
make sure that we are creating jobs in this country, but not just
jobs -- good-paying jobs, ones that can support a family.

And what I want to do is
build on the 5 million jobs that weíve created over the last 30
months in the private sector alone. And there are a bunch of things
that we can do to make sure your future is bright.

Number one: I want to
build manufacturing jobs in this country again. When Governor
Romney said we should let Detroit go bankrupt, I said, weíre going
to bet on American workers and the American auto industry, and itís
come surging back. I want to do that in industries not just in
Detroit but all across the country. And that means we change our
tax code so weíre giving incentives to companies that are investing
here in the United States and creating jobs here. It also means
weíre helping them and small businesses to export all around the
world to new markets.

Number two: Weíve got
to make sure that we have the best education system in the world.
And the fact that youíre going to college is great, but I want
everybody to get a great education. And weíve worked hard to make
sure that student loans are available for folks like you. But I
also want to make sure that community colleges are offering slots
for workers to get retrained for the jobs that are there right now,
and the jobs of the future.

Number three: Weíve got
to control our own energy. Not only oil and natural gas, which
weíve been investing in, but also weíve got to make sure weíre
building the energy sources of the future -- not just thinking about
next year, but 10 years from now, 20 years from now. That's why we
invest in solar and wind and biofuels, energy-efficient cars.

Weíve got to reduce our
deficit, but weíve got to do it in a balanced way -- asking the
wealthy to pay a little bit more along with cuts so that we can
invest in education like yours. And letís take the money that weíve
been spending on war over the last decade to rebuild America --
roads, bridges, schools. We do those things, not only is your
future going to be bright, but Americaís future is going to be
bright as well.

MS. CROWLEY: Let me ask
you for a more immediate answer, beginning with Mr. Romney. Just
quickly, what can you do? Weíre looking at a situation where 40
percent of the unemployed have been unemployed for six months or
more. They don't have the two years that Jeremy has. What about
those long-term unemployed who need a job right now?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well,
what you're seeing in this country is 23 million people struggling
to find a job and a lot of them, as you say, Candy, have been out of
work for a long, long, long time. The Presidentís policies have
been exercised over the last four years and they havenít put
Americans back to work. We have fewer people working today than we
had when the President took office. If the -- the unemployment rate
was 7.8 percent when he took office; itís 7.8 percent now. But if
you calculated that unemployment rate taking back the people who
dropped out of the workforce, it would be 10.7 percent.

We have not made the
progress we need to make to put people back to work. That's why I
put out a five-point plan that gets America 12 million new jobs in
four years and rising take-home pay. Itís going to help Jeremy get
a job when he comes out of school. Itís going to help people across
the country that are unemployed right now.

And one thing that the
President said, which I want to make sure that we understand -- he
said that I said we should take Detroit bankrupt. And that's
right. My plan was to have the company go through bankruptcy like
7-Eleven did and Macy's and Continental Airlines, and come out
stronger. And I know he keeps saying, you wanted to take Detroit
bankrupt. Well, the President took Detroit bankrupt. You took
General Motors bankrupt. You took Chrysler bankrupt. So when you
say that I wanted to take the auto industry bankrupt, you actually
did.

And I think it's
important to know that was a process that was necessary to get those
companies back on their feet so they could start hiring more
people. That was precisely what I recommended and ultimately what
happened.

MS. CROWLEY: Let me
give the President a chance. Go ahead.

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
what Governor Romney said just isn't true. He wanted to take them
into bankruptcy without providing them any way to stay open, and we
would have lost a million jobs. And don't take my word for it. Take
the executives at GM and Chrysler, some of whom are Republicans, may
even support Governor Romney, but they'll tell you his prescription
wasn't going to work.

And Governor Romney says
he's got a five-point plan. Governor Romney doesn't have a
five-point plan; he has a one-point plan. And that plan is to make
sure that folks at the top play by a different set of rules. That's
been his philosophy in the private sector. That's been his
philosophy as governor. That's been his philosophy as a
presidential candidate. You can make a lot of money and pay lower
tax rates than somebody who makes a lot less. You can ship jobs
overseas and get tax breaks for it. You can invest in a company,
bankrupt it, lay off the workers, strip away their pensions and you
still make money.

That's exactly the
philosophy that we've seen in place for the last decade. That's
what's been squeezing middle-class families. And we have fought
back for four years to get out of that mess. The last thing we need
to do is to go back to the very same policies that got us there.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, the next question is going to be for you here. And Mr.
Romney -- Governor Romney, they'll be plenty of chances here to go
on, but I want to --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: That
Detroit answer --

MS. CROWLEY: -- we have
all these folks -- I will let you absolutely --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: -- and
the rest of the answer, way off the mark.

MS. CROWLEY: Okay. You
certainly will have lots of time here coming up, because I want to
move you on to something that's sort of connected to cars here and
go over -- and we want to get a question from Phillip DiCola [ph].

Q: Your Energy
Secretary, Steven Chu, has now been on record three times stating
it's not policy of his department to help lower gas prices. Do you
agree with Secretary Chu that this is not the job of the Energy
Department?

THE PRESIDENT: The most
important thing we can do is to make sure we control our own
energy. So here's what I've done since I've been President. We
have increased oil production to the highest levels in 16 years.
Natural gas production is the highest it's been in decades. We have
seen increases in coal production and coal employment.

But what I've also said
is we can't just produce traditional sources of energy. We've also
got to look to the future. That's why we doubled fuel-efficiency
standards on cars. That means that in the middle of the next
decade, any car you buy you're going to end up going twice as far on
a gallon of gas. That's why we've doubled clean energy production
like wind and solar and biofuels.

And all these things
have contributed to us lowering our oil imports to the lowest levels
in 16 years. Now, I want to build on that. And that means, yes, we
still continue to open up new areas for drilling. We continue to
make it a priority for us to go after natural gas. We've got
potentially 600,000 jobs and a hundred years' worth of energy right
beneath our feet with natural gas. And we can do it in an
environmentally sound way.

But we've also got to
continue to figure out how we have efficient energy, because
ultimately that's how we're going to reduce demand and that's what's
going to keep gas prices lower.

Now, Governor Romney
will say he's got an all-of-the-above plan. But basically, his plan
is to let the oil companies write the energy policies. So he's got
the oil and gas part, but he doesn't have the clean energy part.

And if weíre only
thinking about tomorrow or the next day, and not thinking about 10
years from now, we're not going to control our own economic future.
Because China, Germany -- they're making these investments. And I'm
not going to cede those jobs of the future to those countries. I
expect those new energy sources to be built right here in the United
States. That's going to help Jeremy get a job. It's also going to
make sure that you're not paying as much for gas.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
on the subject of gas prices?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well,
let's look at the President's policies, all right, as opposed to the
rhetoric, because we've had four years of policies being played
out. And the President is right in terms of the additional oil
production, but none of it came on federal land.

As a matter of fact, oil
production is down 14 percent this year on federal land, and gas
production is down 9 percent. Why? Because the President cut in
half the number of licenses and permits for drilling on federal
lands and in federal waters. So where did the increase come from?
Well, a lot of it came from the Bakken Range in North Dakota. What
was his participation there? The America brought a criminal action
against the people drilling up there for oil -- this massive new
resource we have. And what was the cause? Twenty or 25 birds were
killed and they brought out a migratory bird act to go after them on
a criminal basis.

Look, I want to make
sure we use our oil, our coal, our gas, our nuclear, our
renewables. I believe very much in our renewable capabilities --
ethanol, wind, solar -- would be an important part of our energy
mix. But what we don't need is to have the President keeping us
from taking advantage of oil, coal and gas. This has not been Mr.
Oil or Mr. Gas or Mr. Coal. Talk to the people that are working in
those industries.

I was in coal country.
People grabbed my arms and say, please save my job. The head of the
EPA said you can't build a coal plant, itís virtually impossible
given our regulations. When the President ran for office, he said,
if you build a coal plant you can go ahead, but youíll go bankrupt.
That's not the right course for America. Letís take advantage of
the energy resources we have as well as the energy sources for the
future. And if we do that, if we do what I'm planning on doing,
which is getting us energy-independent -- North America energy
independence within eight years -- youíre going to see manufacturing
jobs come back, because our energy is low-cost. Theyíre already
beginning to come back, because of our abundant energy.

I'll get America and
North America energy independent. I'll do it by more drilling, more
permits and licenses. We're going to bring that pipeline in from
Canada. How in the world the President said no to that pipeline I
will never know. This is about bringing good jobs back for the
middle class of America and that's what I'm going to do.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, let me just see if I can move you to the gist of this
question, which is are we looking at the new normal? I can tell you
that tomorrow morning a lot of people in Hempstead will wake up and
fill up and they will find that the price of gas is over $4 a
gallon. Is it within the purview of the government to bring those
prices down, or are we looking at the new normal?

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
thereís no doubt that world demand has gone up. But our production
is going up. And we're using oil more efficiently. And very little
of what Governor Romney just said is true.

We've opened up public
lands. We're actually drilling more on public lands than in the
previous administration -- and the previous President was an oil
man. And natural gas isn't just appearing magically -- we're
encouraging it and working with the industry.

And when I hear Governor
Romney say heís a big coal guy -- and keep in mind, when --
Governor, when you were governor of Massachusetts, you stood in
front of a coal plant and pointed at it and said, ďThis plant killsĒ
-- and took great pride in shutting it down. And now suddenly
youíre a big champion of coal.

So what I've tried to do
is be consistent. With respect to something like coal, we made the
largest investment in clean-coal technology to make sure that even
as we're producing more coal, we're producing it cleaner and
smarter. Same thing with oil. Same thing with natural gas.

And the proof is our oil
imports are down to the lowest levels in 20 years. Oil production
is up; natural gas production is up; and most importantly, we're
also starting to build cars that are more efficient. And that's
creating jobs. That means those cars can be exported because that's
the demand around the world, and it also means that it will save
money in your pocketbook. That's the strategy you need, an
all-of-the-above strategy, and that's what we're going to do in the
next four years.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: But
that's not what youíve done in the last four years. That's the
problem. In the last four years you cut permits and licenses on
federal land and federal waters in half.

THE PRESIDENT: Not
true, Governor Romney.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: So how
much did you cut it by --

THE PRESIDENT: Not
true.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: By how
much did you cut them by then?

THE PRESIDENT:
Governor, we have actually produced more oil --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: No,
no, how much did you cut licenses and permits on federal land and
federal waters?

THE PRESIDENT: Governor
Romney, hereís what we did: There were a whole bunch of oil
companies --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: No, I
had a question, and the question was how much did you cut them by?
How much did you cut them by?

THE PRESIDENT: You want
me to answer a question, I'm happy to answer the question.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: All
right, and it is?

THE PRESIDENT: Hereís
what happened: You had a whole bunch of oil companies who had
leases on public lands that they werenít using. So what we said
was, you canít just sit on this for 10, 20, 30 years, decide when
you want to drill, when you want to produce, when itís most
profitable for you. These are public lands, so if you want to drill
on public lands, you use it or you lose it. And so what we did was
take away those leases, and we are now re-letting them so that we
can actually make a profit.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: And
production on private -- on government lands is down.

THE PRESIDENT: And
production is up. No it isnít.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:
Production on government land of oil is down 14 percent --

THE PRESIDENT: Governor
--

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: -- and
production of gas is down 9 percent.

THE PRESIDENT: -- what
youíre saying is just not true. Itís just not true.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Itís
absolutely true. Look, thereís no question but that the people
recognize that we have not produced more oil and gas --

THE PRESIDENT: Iíll
give you your time. Go ahead.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: -- on
federal lands and in federal waters. And coal -- coal production is
not up; coal jobs are not up. I was just at a coal facility where
some 1,200 people lost their jobs.

The right course for
America is to have a true all-of-the-above policy. I donít think
anyone really believes that youíre a person whoís going to be
pushing for oil and gas and coal. Youíll get your chance in a
moment. Iím still speaking.

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
Governor, if you --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: And
the answer is, I donít believe people think thatís the case because
I --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: That
was a statement. I donít think the American people believe that. I
will fight for oil, coal and natural gas. And the proof of whether
a strategy is working or not is what the price is that youíre paying
at the pump. If youíre paying less than you paid a year or two ago,
why, then, the strategy is working. But youíre paying more.

When the President took
office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about a
buck-eighty-six a gallon. Now itís four bucks a gallon. The price
of electricity is up. If the Presidentís energy policies are
working, youíre going to see the cost of energy come down.

I will fight to create
more energy in this country to get America energy secure, and part
of that is bringing in a pipeline of oil from Canada, taking
advantage of the oil and coal we have here; drilling offshore in
Alaska; drilling offshore in Virginia, where the people want it.
Those things will get us the energy we need.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, could you address -- because we did finally get to gas
prices here -- could you address what the Governor said, which is if
your energy policy was working, the price of gasoline would not be
$4 a gallon here. Is that true?

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
think about what the Governor just said. He said, when I took
office the price of gasoline was $1.80, $1.86. Why is that?
Because the economy was on the verge of collapse. Because we were
about to go through the worst recession since the Great Depression,
as a consequence of some of the same policies that Governor Romney
is now promoting.

So itís conceivable that
Governor Romney could bring down gas prices, because with his
policies we might be back in that same mess.

What I want to do is to
create an economy that is strong and at the same time produce
energy. And with respect to this pipeline that Governor Romney
keeps on talking about -- we've built enough pipeline to wrap around
the entire Earth once. So Iím all for pipelines. Iím all for oil
production. What Iím not for is us ignoring the other half of the
equation.

So, for example, on wind
energy, when Governor Romney says these are imaginary jobs, when
youíve got thousands of people right now in Iowa, right now in
Colorado, who are working, creating wind power with good-paying
manufacturing jobs, and the Republican Senator in Iowa is all for
it, providing tax credits to help this work. And Governor Romney
says, Iím opposed; Iíd get rid of it.

Thatís not an energy
strategy for the future. And we need to win that future. And I
intend to win it as President of the United States.

MS. CROWLEY: Iíve got
to move you along. And the next question is for you.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: No, he
got the first -- he actually got the first question, so I get the
last question -- last answer on that one.

MS. CROWLEY: Actually
in the follow-up it doesnít quite work like that. But Iím going to
give you a chance here. I promise you, Iím going to. And the next
question is for you, so if you want to continue on. But I donít
want to leave all these guys sitting here.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Candy,
I donít have a policy of stopping wind jobs in Iowa. And theyíre
not phantom jobs, theyíre real jobs. I appreciate wind jobs in Iowa
and across our country. I appreciate the jobs in coal and oil and
gas.

MS. CROWLEY: Okay,
thank you --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iím
going to make sure that taking advantage of our energy resources
will bring back manufacturing to America. Weíre going to get
through a very aggressive energy policy -- 3.5 million more jobs in
this country. Itís critical to our future.

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
itís okay, Iím used to being interrupted.

MS. CROWLEY: Weíre
going to move you along to taxes. All right, weíre going to move
you both along to taxes over here and all these folks that have been
waiting. Governor, this question is for you. It comes from Mary
Polano [ph].

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Hi,
Mary.

Q: Governor Romney, you
have stated that if youíre elected President you would plan to
reduce the tax rates for all the tax brackets, and that you would
work with the Congress to eliminate some deductions in order to make
up for the loss in revenue. Concerning these various deductions --
the mortgage deduction, the charitable deductions, the Child Tax
Credit, and also the -- oh, whatís that other credit?

THE PRESIDENT: Youíre
doing great.

Q: Oh, I remember --
the education credits, which are important to me because I have
children in college. What would be your position on those things,
which are important to the middle class?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you very much. And let me tell you, youíre absolutely right about
part of that, which is I want to bring the rates down. I want to
simplify the tax code, and I want to get middle-income taxpayers to
have lower taxes. And the reason I want middle-income taxpayers to
have lower taxes is because middle-income taxpayers have been buried
over the past four years.

Youíve seen as
middle-income people in this country -- incomes go down $4,300 a
family, even as gasoline prices have gone up $2,000. Health
insurance premiums up $2,500. Food prices up. Utility prices up.
The middle-income families in America have been crushed over the
last four years, so I want to get some relief to middle-income
families. That's part one.

Now, how about
deductions? Because Iím going to bring rates down across the board
for everybody, but Iím going to limit deductions and exemptions and
credits, particularly for people at the high end, because I am not
going to have people at the high end pay less than they're paying
now.

The top 5 percent of
taxpayers will continue to pay 60 percent of the income tax the
nation collects. So that will stay the same.

Middle-income people are
going to get a tax break. And so in terms of bringing down
deductions, one way of doing that would be to say everybody gets --
Iíll pick a number -- $25,000 of deductions and credits, and you can
decide which ones to use. Your home mortgage interest deduction,
charity, child tax credit and so forth, you can use those as part of
fill in that bucket, if you will, of deductions. But your rate
comes down, and the burden also comes down on you for one more
reason, and that is every middle-income taxpayer no longer will pay
any tax on interest, dividends, or capital gains; no tax on your
savings.

That makes life a lot
easier. If youíre getting interest from a bank, if youíre getting a
statement from a mutual fund, or any other kind of investments you
have, you don't have to worry about filing taxes on that because
there will be no taxes for anybody making $200,000 a year and less
on your interest, dividends and capital gains.

Why am I lowering taxes
on the middle class? Because under the last four years, theyíve
been buried, and I want to help people in the middle class. And I
will not -- I will not under any circumstances reduce the share
that's being paid by the highest income taxpayers. And I will not
under any circumstances increase taxes on the middle class.

The Presidentís
spending, the Presidentís borrowing will cause this nation to have
to raise taxes on the American people, not just at the high end. A
recent study has shown that people in the middle class will see
$4,000 a year higher taxes as a result of the spending and borrowing
of this administration. I will not let that happen. Iíll get us on
track to a balanced budget, and Iím going to reduce the tax burden
on middle-income families. And whatís that going to do? Itís going
to help those families, and itís going to create incentives to start
growing jobs again in this country.

MS. CROWLEY: Thanks,
Governor.

THE PRESIDENT: My
philosophy on taxes has been simple, and that is I want to give
middle-class families and folks who are striving to get into the
middle class some relief -- because they have been hit hard, over
the last decade, over the last 15, over the last 20 years.

So four years ago, I
stood on a stage just like this one -- actually, it was a town hall
-- and I said, I would cut taxes for middle-class families, and
that's what I've done -- by $3,600. I said I would cut taxes for
small businesses -- who are the drivers and engines of growth -- and
we've cut them 18 times. And I want to continue those tax cuts for
middle-class families and for small businesses.

But what I've also said
is if we're serious about reducing the deficit, if this is genuinely
a moral obligation to the next generation, then in addition to some
tough spending cuts, we've also got to make sure that the wealthy do
a little bit more.

So what I've said is
your first $250,000 worth of income, no change. And that means 98
percent of American families, 97 percent of small businesses, they
will not see a tax increase. I'm ready to sign that bill right
now. The only reason it's not happening is because Governor
Romney's allies in Congress have held the 98 percent hostage,
because they want tax breaks for the top 2 percent.

But what I've also said
is for above $250,000, we can go back to the tax rates we had when
Bill Clinton was President. We created 23 million new jobs. That's
part of what took us from deficits to surplus. It will be good for
our economy and it will be good for job creation.

Now, Governor Romney has
a different philosophy. He was on "60 Minutes" just two weeks ago
and he was asked, is it fair for somebody like you making $20
million a year to pay a lower tax rate than a nurse or bus driver,
somebody making $50,000 a year. And he said, yes, I think that's
fair. Not only that, he said, I think that's what grows the
economy.

Well, I fundamentally
disagree with that. I think what grows the economy is when you get
that tax credit that we put in place for your kids going to
college. I think that grows the economy. I think what grows the
economy is when we make sure small businesses are getting a tax
credit for hiring veterans who fought for our country. That grows
our economy.

So we just have a
different theory. And when Governor Romney stands here, after a
year of campaigning when during a Republican primary, he stood on
stage and said, I'm going to give tax cuts -- he didn't say tax rate
cuts, he said tax cuts -- to everybody including the top 1 percent,
you should believe him, because that's been his history. And that's
exactly the kind of top-down economics that is not going to work if
we want a strong middle class and an economy that's thriving for
everybody.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor
Romney, I'm sure you've got a reply there.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: You're
absolutely right. You heard what I said about my tax plan. The top
5 percent will continue to pay 60 percent, as they do today. I'm
not looking to cut taxes for wealthy people. I am looking to cut
taxes for middle-income people.

And why do I want to
bring rates down and at the same time lower exemptions and
deductions, particularly for people at the high end? Because if you
bring rates down, it makes it easier for small business to keep more
of their capital and hire people. And for me, this is about jobs. I
want to get America's economy going again. Fifty-four percent of
America's workers work in businesses that are taxed as individuals.
So when you bring those rates down, those small businesses are able
to keep more money and hire more people.

For me, I look at what's
happened in the last four years and say this has been a
disappointment. We can do better than this. We don't have to settle
for how many months -- 43 months with unemployment above 8 percent,
23 million Americans struggling to find a good job right now. There
are 3.5 million more women living in poverty today than when the
President took office. We donít have to live like this.

We can get this economy
going again. My five-point plan does it. Energy independence for
North America in five years; opening up more trade, particularly in
Latin America; cracking down on China when they cheat; getting us to
a balanced budget; fixing our training programs for our workers;
and, finally, championing small business.

I want to help small
businesses grow and thrive. I know how to make that happen. I
spent my life in the private sector. I know why jobs come and why
they go. And they're going now because of the policies of this
administration.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
let me ask the President something about what you just said. The
Governor says that he is not going to allow the top 5 percent -- I
believe is what he said -- to have a tax cut, that it will all even
out, that what he wants to do is give that tax cut to the middle
class. Settled?

THE PRESIDENT: No, it's
not settled. Look, the cost of lowering rates for everybody across
the board 20 percent, along with what he also wants to do in terms
of eliminating the estate tax, along with what he wants to do in
terms of corporate changes in the tax code, it costs about $5
trillion.

Governor Romney then
also wants to spend $2 trillion on additional military programs,
even though the military is not asking for them. That's $7
trillion. He also wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for the
wealthiest Americans. That's another trillion dollars. That's $8
trillion.

Now, what he says is
he's going to make sure that this doesn't add to the deficit and
he's going to cut middle-class taxes. But when he's asked how are
you going to do it, which deductions, which loopholes are you going
to close, he can't tell you. The fact that he only has to pay 14
percent on his taxes when a lot of you are paying much higher, he's
already taken that off the board. Capital gains are going to
continue to be at a low rate, so we're not going to get money that
way.

We haven't heard from
the Governor any specifics beyond Big Bird and eliminating funding
for Planned Parenthood in terms of how he pays for that.

Now, Governor Romney was
a very successful investor. If somebody came to you, Governor, with
a plan that said, here, I want to spend $7 or $8 trillion and then
weíre going to pay for it, but we canít tell you until maybe after
the election how weíre going to do it, you wouldnít have taken such
a sketchy deal.

And neither should you,
the American people, because the math doesnít add up. And whatís at
stake here is one of two things. Either, Candy, this blows up the
deficit -- because keep in mind, this is just to pay for the
additional spending that heís talking about -- $7-$8 trillion --
thatís before we even get to the deficit we already have.

Or, alternatively, itís
got to be paid for not only by closing deductions for wealthy
individuals -- that will pay for about 4 percent reduction in tax
rates -- youíre going to be paying for it. Youíll lose some
deductions. And you canít buy this sales pitch. Nobody whoís
looked at it thatís serious actually believes it adds up.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, let me get the Governor in on this. And, Governor,
letís, before we get into a vast array of who says -- what study
says what, if it shouldnít add up, if somehow when you get in there,
there isnít enough tax revenue coming in, if somehow the numbers
donít add up, would you be willing to look again at a 20 percent --

MR. ROMNEY: Well, of
course they add up. I was someone who ran businesses for 25 years
and balanced the budget. I ran the Olympics and balanced the
budget. I ran the state of a Massachusetts as a governor, to the
extent any governor does, and balanced the budget all four years.

When weíre talking about
math that doesnít add up, how about $4 trillion of deficits over the
last four years -- $5 trillion? Thatís math that doesnít add up. We
have a President talking about someoneís plan in a way thatís
completely foreign to what my real plan is.

And then we have his own
record, which is we have four consecutive years where he said, when
he was running for office, he would cut the deficit in half.
Instead, heís doubled it. Weíve gone from $10 trillion of national
debt to $16 trillion of national debt. If the President were
reelected, weíd go to almost $20 trillion of national debt. This
puts us on a road to Greece.

I know what it takes to
balance budgets. Iíve done it my entire life. So for instance,
when he says, yours is a $5 trillion cut -- well, no, itís not,
because Iím offsetting some of the reductions, withholding down some
of the deductions and I --

THE PRESIDENT: Candy --

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
Iíve got to --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iím
sorry --

MS. CROWLEY: Actually,
I need to have you both hang -- I understand the stakes here. I
understand both of you, but I will get run out of town if I donít
allow --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: And I
just described to you, Mr. President, I just described to you
precisely how Iíd do it --

MS. CROWLEY: You will
get --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: --
which is with a single number that people can put -- and they can
put their deductions and credits into that bucket.

MS. CROWLEY: -- so stay
standing. And itís Catherine Fenton who has a question for you.

Q: In what new ways do
you intend to rectify the inequalities in the workplace,
specifically regarding females making only 72 percent of what their
male counterparts earn?

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
Catherine, this is a great question. And I was raised by a single
mom who had to put herself through school while looking after two
kids. And she worked hard every day and made a lot of sacrifices to
make sure we got everything we needed.

My grandmother, she
started off as a secretary in a bank. She never got a college
education even though she was smart as a whip. And she worked her
way up to become a vice president at a local bank, but she hit the
glass ceiling. She trained people who would end up becoming her
bosses during the course of her career. She didn't complain.
That's not what you did in that generation.

And this is one of the
reasons why one of the first -- the first bill I signed was
something called the Lilly Ledbetter bill, and it was named after
this amazing woman who had been doing the same job as a man for
years, found out that she was getting paid less, and the Supreme
Court said that she couldnít bring suit because she should have
found out about it earlier, where she had no way of finding out
about it. So we fixed that.
And that's an example of the kind of advocacy that we need, because
women are increasingly the breadwinners in the family. This is not
just a womenís issue. This is a family issue; this is a
middle-class issue. And that's why weíve got to fight for it.

It also means that weíve
got to make sure that young people like yourself are able to afford
a college education. Earlier, Governor Romney talked about he wants
to make Pell grants and other education accessible for young
people. Well, the truth of the matter is, is that that's exactly
what weíve done. Weíve expanded Pell grants for millions of people,
including millions of young women all across the country. We did it
by taking $60 billion that was going to banks and lenders as
middlemen for the student loan program, and we said letís just cut
out the middle man. Letís give the money directly to students. And
as a consequence, weíve seen millions of young people be able to
afford college, and that's going to make sure that young women are
going to be able to compete in that marketplace.

But weíve got to enforce
the laws, which is what we are doing. And weíve also got to make
sure that in every walk of life, we do not tolerate discrimination.
That's been one of the hallmarks of my administration. Iím going to
continue to push on this issue for the next four years.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor
Romney, pay equity for women.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you, an important topic, and one which I learned a great deal about,
particularly as I was serving as governor of my state, because I had
the chance to pull together a cabinet, and all the applicants seemed
to be men. And I went to my staff and I said, how come all the
people for these jobs are all men? They said, well, these are the
people that have the qualifications. And I said, well, gosh, canít
we find some women that are also qualified? And so we took a
concerted effort to go out and find women who had backgrounds that
could be qualified to become members of our cabinet. I went to a
number of womenís groups and said, can you help us find folks? And
they brought us whole binders full of women.

I was proud of the fact
that after I staffed my cabinet and my senior staff, that the
University of New York in Albany did a survey of all 50 states and
concluded that mine had more women in senior leadership positions
than any other state in America.

Now, one of the reasons
I was able to get so many good women to be part of that team was
because of our recruiting effort, but number two, because I
recognize that if youíre going to have women in the workforce that
sometimes they need to be more flexible. My chief of staff, for
instance, had two kids that were still in school. She said, I canít
be here until 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m. at night; I need to be able to
get home at 5:00 p.m. so I can be there for making dinner for my
kids and being with them when they get home from school. So we
said, fine, letís have a flexible schedule so you can have hours
that work for you.

Weíre going to have to
have employers in the new economy, in the economy Iím going to bring
to play, that are going to be so anxious to get good workers,
theyíre going to be anxious to hire women.

In the last four years,
women have lost 580,000 jobs. That's the net of what's happened in
the last four years. Weíre still down 580,000 jobs. I mentioned
3.5 million women more now in poverty than four years ago.

What we can do to help
young women and women of all ages is to have a strong economy, so
strong that employers are looking to find good employees and
bringing them into their workforce, and adapting to a flexible work
schedule that gives women the opportunities that they would
otherwise not be able to afford.

This is what Iíve done.
Itís what I look forward to doing. And I know what it takes to make
an economy work. And I know what a working economy looks like. And
an economy with 7.8 percent unemployment is not a real strong
economy. An economy that has 23 million people looking for work is
not a strong economy. An economy with 50 percent of kids graduating
from college that canít find a job, or a college-level job -- that's
not what we have to have. Iím going to help women in America get
good work by getting a stronger economy and by supporting women in
the workforce.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, why don't you get in on this quickly, please?

THE PRESIDENT:
Catherine, I just want to point out that when Governor Romneyís
campaign was asked about the Lilly Ledbetter bill, whether he
supported it, he said, Iíll get back to you. And that's not the
kind of advocacy that women need in any economy.

Now, there are some
other issues that have a bearing on how women succeed in the
workplace -- for example, their health care. A major difference in
this campaign is that Governor Romney feels comfortable having
politicians in Washington decide the health care choices that women
are making. I think that's a mistake.

In my health care bill,
I said insurance companies need to provide contraceptive coverage to
everybody whoís insured, because this is not just a health issue,
itís an economic issue for women. It makes a difference. This is
money out of that familyís pocket.

Governor Romney not only
opposed it, he suggested that in fact employers should be able to
make the decision as to whether or not a woman gets contraception
through her insurance coverage. That's not the kind of advocacy that
women need.

When Governor Romney
says that we should eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, there
are millions of women all across the country who rely on Planned
Parenthood for not just contraceptive care; they rely on it for
mammograms, for cervical cancer screenings. That's a pocketbook
issue for women and families all across the country, and it makes a
difference in terms of how well and effectively women are able to
work.

When we talk about child
care and the credits that weíre providing, that makes a difference
in terms of whether they can go out there and earn a living for
their family.

These are not just
womenís issues. These are family issues. These are economic
issues. And one of the things that makes us grow as an economy is
when everybody participates, and women are getting the same, fair
deal as men are. And Iíve got two daughters and I want to make sure
that they have the same opportunities that anybodyís sons have. And
that's a part of what Iím fighting for as President of the United
States.

MS. CROWLEY: I want to
move us along here to Susan Katz [ph] who has a question. And,
Governor, itís for you.

Q: Governor Romney, I
am an undecided voter because Iím disappointed with the lack of
progress Iíve seen in the last four years. However, I do attribute
much of Americaís economic and international problems to the
failings and missteps of the Bush administration. Since both you
and President Bush are Republicans, I fear a return to the policies
of those years should you win this election. What is the biggest
difference between you and George W. Bush? And how do you
differentiate yourself from George W. Bush?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you. And I appreciate that question. I just want to make sure that
-- I think I was supposed to get that last answer, but I want to
point out that I don't believe --

THE PRESIDENT: I don't
think so, Candy. I want to make sure your timekeepers are working
here.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: The
time --

MS. CROWLEY: The
timekeepers are all working.

THE PRESIDENT: All
right.

MS. CROWLEY: And let me
tell you that the last part, itís for the two of you to talk to one
another, and it isnít quite as ordered as you think. But go ahead
and use this two minutes any way youíd like to, the question is on
the floor.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iíd
just note that I don't believe that bureaucrats in Washington should
tell someone whether they can use contraceptives or not, and I don't
believe employers should tell someone whether they could have
contraceptive care or not. Every woman in America should have
access to contraceptives. And the Presidentís statement of my
policy is completely and totally wrong.

THE PRESIDENT:
Governor, that's not true.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Let me
come back and answer your question. President Bush and I are
different people, and these are different times. And that's why my
five-point plan is so different than what he would have done.

For instance, we can now
by virtue of new technology actually get all the energy we need in
North America without having to go to the Arabs or the Venezuelans
or anyone else. That wasnít true in his time. That's why my policy
starts with a very robust policy to get all that energy in North
America, become energy secure.

Number two, trade: Iíll
crack down on China. President Bush didn't. Iím also going to
dramatically expand trade in Latin America. Itís been growing about
12 percent per year over a long period of time. I want to add more
free trade agreements so weíll have more trade.

Number three, Iím going
to get us to a balanced budget. President Bush didn't. President
Obama was right -- he said that that was outrageous to have deficits
as high as half a trillion dollars under the Bush years. He was
right. But then he put in place deficits twice that size for every
one of his four years, and his forecast for the next four years is
more deficits almost that large. So that's the next way Iím
different than President Bush.

And then letís take the
last one, championing small business. Our party has been focused on
big business too long. I came through small business. I understand
how hard it is to start a small business. That's why everything
Iíll do is designed to help small businesses grow and add jobs. I
want to keep their taxes down on small business. I want regulators
to see their job as encouraging small enterprise, not crushing it.

And the thing I find
most troubling about Obamacare -- well, itís a long list -- but one
of the things I find most troubling is that when you go out and talk
to small businesses and ask them what they think about it, they tell
you it keeps them from hiring more people.

My priority is jobs. I
know how to make that happen. And President Bush had a very
different path for a very different time. My path is designed in
getting small businesses to grow and hire people.

MS. CROWLEY: Thanks,
Governor.

Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
first of all, I think itís important to tell you that we did come in
during some tough times. We were losing 800,000 jobs a month when I
started. But we have been digging our way out of policies that were
misplaced and focused on the top doing very well and middle-class
folks not doing well. And weíve seen 30 consecutive -- 31
consecutive months of job growth, 5.2 million new jobs created. And
the plans that I talked about will create even more.

But when Governor Romney
says that he has a very different economic plan, the centerpiece of
his economic plan are tax cuts. Thatís what took us from surplus to
deficit. When he talks about getting tough on China, keep in mind
that Governor Romney invested in companies that were pioneers of
outsourcing to China, and is currently investing in countries -- in
companies that are building surveillance equipment for China to spy
on its own folks.

Governor, youíre the
last person who is going to get tough on China.

And what weíve done when
it comes to trade is not only sign three trade deals to open up new
markets, but weíve also set up a task force for trade that goes
after anybody who is taking advantage of American workers or
businesses, and not creating a level playing field. Weíve brought
twice as many cases against unfair trading practices than the
previous administration and weíve won every single one thatís been
decided.

When I said that we had
to make sure that China was not flooding our domestic market with
cheap tires, Governor Romney said I was being protectionist, that it
wouldnít be helpful to American workers. Well, in fact, we saved a
thousand jobs. And thatís the kind of tough trade actions that are
required.

But the last point I
want to make is this: There are some things where Governor Romney
is different from George Bush. George Bush didnít propose turning
Medicare into a voucher. George Bush embraced comprehensive
immigration reform; he didnít call for self-deportation. George
Bush never suggested that we eliminate funding for Planned
Parenthood.

So there are differences
between Governor Romney and George Bush, but theyíre not on economic
policy. In some ways, heís gone to a more extreme place when it
comes to social policy. And I think thatís a mistake. Thatís not
how weíre going to move our economy forward.

MS. CROWLEY: I want to
move you both along to the next question because itís in the same
wheelhouse so you will be able to respond. But the President does
get this question. I want to call on Michael Jones.

Q: Mr. President, I
voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn
my vote in 2012? Iím not that optimistic as I was in 2012. Most
things I need for everyday living are very expensive.

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
weíve gone through a tough four years, thereís no doubt about it.
But four years ago, I told the American people and I told you I
would cut taxes for middle-class families, and I did. I told you
Iíd cut taxes for small businesses, and I have. I said that Iíd end
the war in Iraq, and I did. I said weíd refocus attention on those
who actually attacked us on 9/11, and we have gone after al Qaedaís
leadership like never before and Osama bin Laden is dead.

I said that we would put
in place health care reform to make sure that insurance companies
can't jerk you around, and if you don't have health insurance, that
you'd have a chance to get affordable insurance -- and I have.

I committed that I would
rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and we passed the toughest Wall
Street reforms since the 1930s.

We've created 5 million
jobs -- gone from 800,000 jobs a month being lost -- and we are
making progress. We saved an auto industry that was on the brink of
collapse.

Now, does that mean
you're not struggling? Absolutely not. A lot of us are. And that's
why the plan that I've put forward for manufacturing, and education,
and reducing our deficit in a sensible way, using the savings from
ending wars to rebuild America and putting people back to work,
making sure that we are controlling our own energy, but not just the
energy of today, but also the energy of the future -- all those
things will make a difference.

So the point is the
commitments I've made I've kept. And those that I haven't been able
to keep, it's not for lack of trying and we're going to get it done
in a second term. But you should pay attention to this campaign,
because Governor Romney has made some commitments as well, and I
suspect he'll keep those, too. When members of the Republican
Congress say, we're going to sign a no-tax pledge so that we donít
ask a dime from millionaires and billionaires to reduce our deficit
so we can still invest in education and helping kids go to college,
he said, me, too.

When they said, we're
going to cut Planned Parenthood funding, he said, me, too. When
they said, we're going to repeal Obamacare -- the first thing I'm
going to do, despite the fact that it's the same health care plan
that he passed in Massachusetts and is working well -- he said, me
too.

That is not the kind of
leadership that you need, but you should expect that those are
promises he's going to keep.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, let me let --

THE PRESIDENT: And the
choice in this election is going to be whose promises are going to
be more likely to help you in your life, make sure your kids can go
to college, make sure that you are getting a good-paying job, making
sure that Medicare and Social Security will be there for you.

MS. CROWLEY: Thank
you.

Governor.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: I
think you know better. I think you know that these last four years
haven't been so good as the President just described, and that you
don't feel like you're confident that the next four years are going
to be much better either. I can tell you that if you were to elect
President Obama, you know what you're going to get. You're going to
get a repeat of the last four years. We just can't afford four more
years like the last four years.

He said that by now we'd
have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it
is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work. I wasn't
the one that said 5.4 percent. This was the President's plan --
didn't get there.

He said he would have by
now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security,
because he pointed out they're on the road to bankruptcy. He would
reform them. He'd get that done. He hasn't even made a proposal on
either one. He said in his first year heíd put out an immigration
plan that would deal with our immigration challenges -- didn't even
file it.

This is a President who
has not been able to do what he said heíd do. He said that heíd cut
in half the deficit -- he hasnít done that either; in fact, he
doubled it. He said that by now, middle-income families would have
a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year.
Itís gone up by $2,500 a year. And if Obamacare is passed -- or
implemented -- itís already been passed -- if itís implemented
fully, it will be another $2,500 on top.

The middle class is
getting crushed under the policies of a President who has not
understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps
saying, look, Iíve created 5 million jobs. Thatís after losing 5
million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has
not been reduced in this country. The unemployment, the number of
people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million
Americans. There are more people in poverty -- one out of six
people in poverty.

How about food stamps?
When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today,
47 million people are on food stamps. How about the growth of the
economy? Itís growing more slowly this year than last year, and
more slowly last year than the year before.

The President wants to
do well, I understand. But the policies heís put in place, from
Obamacare to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory
policies -- these policies combined have not let this economy take
off and grow like it could have. You might say, well, you got an
example of when it worked better? Yes. In the Reagan recession,
where unemployment hit 10.8 percent, between that period -- the end
of that recession and the equivalent period of time to today, Ronald
Reaganís recovery created twice as many jobs as this Presidentís
recovery.

Five million jobs
doesnít even keep up with our population growth. And the only
reason the unemployment rate seems a little lower today is because
of all the people that have dropped out of the workforce.

The President has tried,
but his policies havenít worked. Heís great as a speaker and
describing his plans and his vision. Thatís wonderful, except we
have a record to look at. And that record shows he just hasnít been
able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and
Social Security to preserve them, to get us the rising incomes we
need. Median incomes down $4,300 a family, and 23 million Americans
out of work -- thatís what this election is about. Itís about who
can get the middle class in this country a bright and prosperous
future and assure our kids the kind of hope and optimism they
deserve.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
I want to move you along. Donít go away, and weíll have plenty of
time to respond. We are quite aware of the clock for both of you.
But I want to bring in a different subject here. Mr. President,
Iíll be right back with you. Lorraine Osario [ph] has a question
for you about a topic we have not heard.

THE PRESIDENT: This is
for Governor Romney?

MS. CROWLEY: Yes, this
is for Governor Romney, and weíll be right with you, Mr. President.
Thanks.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Is it
Lorena?

Q: Lorraine.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:
Lorraine.

Q: Yes, Lorraine. How
are you doing?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Good,
thanks.

Q: President. Romney:
What do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green card
that are currently living here as productive members of society?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you, Lorraine. Did I get that right? Good. Thank you for
question. And let me step back and tell you what Iíd like to do
with our immigration policy broadly, and include an answer to your
question.

First of all, this is a
nation of immigrants. We welcome people coming to this country as
immigrants. My dad was born in Mexico of American parents; Annís
dad was born in Wales and is a first-generation American. We
welcome legal immigrants into this country.

I want our legal system
to work better. I want it to be streamlined. I want it to be
clearer. I donít think you have to -- shouldnít have to hire a
lawyer to figure out how to get into this country legally. I also
think that we should give visas to people -- green cards, rather, to
people who graduate with skills that we need. People around the
world with accredited degrees in science and math get a green card
stapled to their diploma; come to the U.S. of A. We should make
sure that our legal system works.

Number two, weíre going
to have to stop illegal immigration. There are 4 million people who
are waiting in line to get here legally. Those whoíve come here
illegally take their place. So I will not grant amnesty to those
whoíve come here illegally. What I will do is Iíll put in place an
employment verification system and make sure that employers that
hire people who have come here illegally are sanctioned for doing
so. I wonít put in place magnets for people coming here illegally.
So, for instance, I would not give driverís licenses to those that
have come here illegally, as the President would.

The kids of those that
came here illegally -- those kids I think should have a pathway to
become a permanent resident of the United States. And military
service, for instance, is one way they would have that kind of
pathway to become a permanent resident.

Now, when the President
ran for office he said that heíd put in place in his first year a
piece of legislation -- heíd file a bill in his first year that
would reform our immigration system -- protect legal immigration,
stop illegal immigration. He didnít do it. He had a Democrat
House, a Democrat Senate, a supermajority in both houses. Why did
he fail to even promote legislation that would have provided an
answer for those that want to come here legally and for those that
are here illegally today? Thatís a question I think the President
will have a chance to answer to answer right now.

THE PRESIDENT: Good, I
look forward to it. Was it Lorena? Lorraine. We are a nation of
immigrants. Weíre just a few miles away from Ellis Island. We all
understand what this country has become because talent from all
around the world wants to come here. People are willing to take
risks. People who want to build on their dreams and make sure their
kids have even bigger dreams than they have.

But weíre also a nation
of laws. So what Iíve said is we need to fix a broken immigration
system. And Iíve done everything I can on my own, and sought
cooperation from Congress to make sure that we fixed the system.

First thing we did was
to streamline the legal immigration system to reduce the backlog,
make it easier, simpler and cheaper for people who are waiting in
line, obeying the law, to make sure that they can come here and
contribute to our country. And that's good for our economic
growth. Theyíll start new businesses. Theyíll make things happen
that create jobs here in the United States.

Number two, we do have
to deal with our border, so we put more Border Patrol on than any
time in history, and the flow of undocumented workers across the
border is actually lower than itís been in 40 years.

What Iíve also said is
if weíre going to go after folks who are here illegally, we should
do it smartly and go after folks who are criminals, gangbangers,
people who are hurting the community -- not after students. Not
after folks who are here just because they're trying to figure out
how to feed their families. And that's what weíve done.

And what Iíve also said
is for young people who come here, brought here oftentimes by their
parents, have gone to school here, pledged allegiance to the flag,
think of this as their country, understand themselves as Americans
in every way except having papers, then we should make sure that we
give them a pathway to citizenship. And that's what Iíve done
administratively.

Now, Governor Romney
just said that he wants to help those young people, too. But during
the Republican primary he said, I will veto the DREAM Act that would
allow these young people to have access. His main strategy during
the Republican primary was to say, weíre going to encourage
self-deportation -- making life so miserable on folks that theyíll
leave.

He called the Arizona
law a model for the nation -- part of the Arizona law said that law
enforcement officers could stop folks because they suspected maybe
they looked like they might be undocumented workers and check their
papers. And you know what, if my daughter or yours looks to
somebody like they're not a citizen, I don't want to empower
somebody like that.

So we can fix this
system in a comprehensive way. And when Governor Romney says the
challenge is, well, Obama didn't try -- that's not true. I sat down
with Democrats and Republicans at the beginning of my term, and I
said, letís fix this system, including senators previously who had
supported it on the Republican side. But itís very hard for
Republicans in Congress to support comprehensive immigration reform
if their standard bearer has said that, this is not something Iím
interested in supporting.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: No,
let me go back and speak to the points that the President made and
letís get them correct. I did not say that the Arizona law was a
model for the nation in that aspect. I said that the E-Verify
portion of the Arizona law, which is -- which is the portion of the
law which says that employers could be able to determine whether
someone is here illegally or not illegally, that that was a model
for the nation. That's number one.

Number two, I asked the
President a question I think Hispanics and immigrants all over the
nation have asked. He was asked this on Univision the other day.
Why, when you said youíd file legislation in your first year, didnít
you do it? And he didnít answer. He doesnít answer that question.
He said the standard bearer wasnít for it. Iím glad you thought I
was a standard bearer four years ago, but I wasn't. Four years ago,
you said in your first year, you would file legislation. In his
first year, I was just getting -- licking my wounds from having been
beaten by John McCain, all right. I was not the standard bearer.
My view is that this President should have honored his promise to do
as he said.

Now, let me mention one
other thing and that is self-deportation says let people make their
own choice. What I was saying is weíre not going to round up 12
million people, undocumented, illegals, and take them out of the
nation. Instead, let people make their own choice. And if they
find that they canít get the benefits here that they want and they
canít find the job they want, then theyíll make a decision to go a
place where they have better opportunities.

But Iím not in favor of
rounding up people and taking them out of this country. I am in
favor, as the President has said and I agree with him, which is that
if people have committed crimes weíve got to get them out of this
country.

Let me mention something
else the President said. It was a moment ago and I didnít get a
chance to -- when he was describing Chinese investments and so forth
--

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
hold on a second. At some point --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Mr.
President, Iím still speaking.

MS. CROWLEY: Iím sorry
--

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Mr.
President, why don't you let me finish --

THE PRESIDENT: Governor
Romney, Iím used to --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iím
going -- Iím going to continue -- Iím going to continue. If the
President made --

MS. CROWLEY: Go ahead
and finish, Governor Romney. Governor Romney, if you could make it
short. See all these people, theyíve been waiting for you. Could
you make it short and then --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yes,
just going to make a point. Any investments I have over the last
eight years have been managed by a blind trust. And I understand
they do include investments outside the United States, including in
Chinese companies.

Mr. President, have you
looked at your pension?

THE PRESIDENT: Candy --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Have
you looked at your pension?

THE PRESIDENT: Iíve got
to say -- Candy --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Mr.
President, have you looked at your pension?

THE PRESIDENT: You
know, I donít look at my pension. Itís not as big as yours so it
doesnít take as long.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Let me
give you some advice.

THE PRESIDENT: I donít
check it that often.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Look
at your pension. You also have investments in Chinese companies.
You also have investments outside the United States. You also have
investments through a Caymanís trust.

MS. CROWLEY: We are
sort of way off topic here, Governor Romney.

THE PRESIDENT: Weíre a
little off topic here.

MS. CROWLEY: We are
completely off immigration.

THE PRESIDENT: I know
we were talking about immigration.

MS. CROWLEY: And weíve
-- quickly, Mr. President --

THE PRESIDENT: I do
want to make sure --

MS. CROWLEY: If I could
have you sit down, Governor Romney. Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: I do
want to make sure that we just understand something. Governor
Romney says he wasnít referring to Arizona as a model for the
nation. His top advisor on immigration is the guy who designed the
Arizona law, the entirety of it. Not E-Verify, the whole thing.
Thatís his policy. And itís a bad policy. And it wonít help us
grow.

Look, when we think
about immigration, we have to understand there are folks all around
the world who still see America as the land of promise. And they
provide us energy and they provide us innovation, and they start
companies like Intel and Google -- and we want to encourage that.

Now, weíve got to make
sure that we do it in a smart way, in a comprehensive way, and we
make the legal system better. But when we make this into a divisive
political issue, and when we donít have bipartisan support -- I can
deliver, Governor, a whole bunch of Democrats to get comprehensive
immigration reform done, and we canít --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iíll
get it done. Iíll get it done the first year --

THE PRESIDENT: -- we
have not seen Republicans serious about this issue at all.

MS. CROWLEY: -- I want
you to talk to Carey Ladka [ph], who wants to switch the topic for
us.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay.
Hi, Carey.

Q: Good evening, Mr.
President.

THE PRESIDENT: Iím
sorry, whatís your name?

Q: Itís Carey. Carey
Ladka [ph].

THE PRESIDENT: Great to
see you, Carey.

Q: This question
actually comes from a brain trust of my friends at Global Telecom
Supply in Mineola yesterday. We were sitting around talking about
Libya, and we were reading and became aware of reports that the
State Department refused extra security for our embassy in Benghazi,
Libya, prior to the attacks that killed four Americans. Who was it
that denied enhanced security, and why?

THE PRESIDENT: Well,
let me, first of all, talk about our diplomats, because they serve
all around the world and do an incredible job in a very dangerous
situation. And these arenít just representatives of the United
States. Theyíre my representatives. I send them there, oftentimes
into harmís way. I know these folks, and I know these families. So
nobody is more concerned about their safety and security than I am.

So as soon as we found
out that the Benghazi consulate was being overrun, I was on the
phone with my national security team, and I gave them three
instructions. Number one, beef up our security and procedures not
just in Libya but in every embassy and consulate in the region.
Number two, investigate exactly what happened, regardless of where
the facts lead us, to make sure that folks are held accountable and
it doesnít happen again. And number three, we are going to find out
who did this and we are going to hunt them down, because one of the
things that Iíve said throughout my presidency is when folks mess
with Americans, we go after them.

Now, Governor Romney had
a very different response. While we were still dealing with our
diplomats being threatened, Governor Romney put out a press release,
trying to make political points. And that's not how a
Commander-in-Chief operates. You don't turn national security into
a political issue, certainly not right when itís happening.

And people -- not
everybody agrees with some of the decisions Iíve made, but when it
comes to our national security, I mean what I say. I said Iíd end
the war in Libya -- in Iraq, and I did. I said that weíd go after
al Qaeda and bin Laden -- we have. I said weíd transition out of
Afghanistan and start making sure that Afghans are responsible for
their own security. That's what Iím doing.

And when it comes to
this issue, when I say that we are going to find out exactly what
happened, everybody will be held accountable -- and I am ultimately
responsible for whatís taking place there, because these are my
folks, and Iím the one who has to greet those coffins when they come
home, you know that I mean what I say.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, Iíve got to move us along.

Governor?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you, Carey, for your question. Itís an important one, and I think
the President just said correctly that the buck does stop at his
desk, and he takes responsibility for that -- for the failure in
providing those security resources. And those terrible things may
well happen from time to time. I feel very deeply sympathetic for
the families of those who lost loved ones. And today thereís a
memorial service for one of those that was lost in this tragedy. We
think of their families and care for them deeply.

There were other issues
associated with this tragedy. There were many days that passed
before we knew whether this was a spontaneous demonstration or
actually whether it was a terrorist attack. And there was no
demonstration involved. It was a terrorist attack. And it took a
long time for that to be told to the American people.

Whether there was some
misleading or instead whether we just didnít know what happened, I
think you have to ask yourself, why didnít we know five days later
when the Ambassador to the United Nations went on TV to say that
this was a demonstration -- how could we have not known?

But I find more
troubling than this that on the day following the assassination of
the United States ambassador -- the first time that's happened since
1979 -- when we have four Americans killed there, when apparently we
didnít know what happened, that the President, the day after that
happened, flies to Las Vegas for a political fundraiser, then the
next day to Colorado for another event, another political event. I
think these actions taken by a President and a leader have symbolic
significance, and perhaps even material significance in that youíd
hope that during that time we could call in the people who were
actually eyewitnesses. Weíve read their accounts now about what
happened. It was very clear this was not a demonstration. This was
an attack by terrorists.

And this calls into
question the Presidentís whole policy in the Middle East. Look
what's happening in Syria, in Egypt, now in Libya. Consider the
distance between ourselves and Israel. The President said that he
was going to put daylight between us and Israel. We have Iran four
years closer to a nuclear bomb.

Syria -- Syria is not
just the tragedy of 30,000 civilians being killed by a military, but
also a strategically significant player for America. The
Presidentís policies throughout the Middle East began with an
apology tour, and pursue a strategy of leading from behind. And
this strategy is unraveling before our very eyes.

MS. CROWLEY: Because
weíre closing in, I want to still get a lot of people in. I want to
ask you something, Mr. President, and then have the Governor just
quickly. Your Secretary of State, as Iím sure you know, has said
that she takes full responsibility for the attack on the diplomatic
mission in Benghazi. Does the buck stop with your Secretary of
State, as far as what went on here?

THE PRESIDENT:
Secretary Clinton has done an extraordinary job, but she works for
me. Iím the President, and Iím always responsible. And thatís why
nobody is more interested in finding out exactly what happened than
I do.

The day after the
attack, Governor, I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American
people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what
happened, that this was an act of terror, and I also said that weíre
going to hunt down those who committed this crime. And then a few
days later, I was there greeting the caskets coming into Andrews Air
Force Base, and grieving with the families.

And the suggestion that
anybody on my team -- whether the Secretary of State, our U.N.
Ambassador -- anybody on my team would play politics or mislead when
weíve lost four of our own, Governor, is offensive. Thatís not what
we do. Thatís not what I do as President. Thatís not what I do as
Commander-in-Chief.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
if you want to reply quickly to this please.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yes, I
surely do. I think itís interesting the President just said
something, which is that on the day after the attack he went in the
Rose Garden and said that this was an attack of terror.

THE PRESIDENT: Thatís
what I said.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: You
said in the Rose Garden the day after the attack it was an act of
terror? It was not a spontaneous demonstration?

THE PRESIDENT: Please
proceed.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Is
that what youíre saying?

THE PRESIDENT: Please
proceed, Governor.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: I want
to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the
President 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of
terror.

THE PRESIDENT: Get the
transcript.

MS. CROWLEY: He did, in
fact, sir. So let me call it an act of terror in the Rose Garden.
He used the word --

THE PRESIDENT: Can you
say that a little louder, Candy?

MS. CROWLEY: He did
call it an act of terror. It did, as well, take -- it did, as well,
take two weeks or so for the whole idea of there being a riot out
there about this tape to come out. You are correct about that.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: The
administration indicated that this was a reaction to a video and was
a spontaneous reaction.

MS. CROWLEY: They did.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: It
took them a long time to say this was a terrorist act by a terrorist
group. And to suggest -- am I incorrect in that regard? On Sunday,
your Secretary --

THE PRESIDENT: Candy?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: --
excuse me, the Ambassador to the United Nations went on the Sunday
television shows and spoke about how this was a spontaneous
reaction.

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
Iím happy to have a longer conversation about foreign policy.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, let me -- I know you -- absolutely. But I want to move
you on.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay,
Iím happy to do that, too.

MS. CROWLEY: And also,
people can go to the transcripts and --

THE PRESIDENT: I just
want to make sure that --

MS. CROWLEY: -- figure
out what was said and when.

THE PRESIDENT: -- all
those wonderful folks are going to have a chance to get some of
their questions answered.

MS. CROWLEY: Because
what I want to do, Mr. President -- stand there for a second,
because I want to introduce you to Nina Gonzalez, who brought up a
question that we hear a lot both over the Internet and from this
crowd.

Q: President Obama,
during the Democratic National Convention in 2008, you stated you
wanted to keep AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. What has your
administration done or plan to do to limit the availability of
assault weapons?

THE PRESIDENT: Weíre a
nation that believes in the Second Amendment, and I believe in the
Second Amendment. Weíve got a long tradition of hunting and
sportsmen, and people who want to make sure they can protect
themselves.

But there have been too
many instances during the course of my presidency where Iíve had to
comfort families who have lost somebody -- most recently, out in
Aurora. Just a couple of weeks ago -- actually probably about a
month, I saw a mother who I had met at the bedside of her son who
had been shot in that theater. And her son had been shot through the
head. And we spent some time and we said a prayer. And remarkably,
about two months later, this young man and his mom showed up, and he
looked unbelievable -- good as new. But there were a lot of
families who didnít have that good fortune, and whose sons or
daughters or husbands didnít survive.

So my belief is that, A,
we have to enforce the laws weíve already got; make sure that weíre
keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, those who are mentally
ill. Weíve done a much better job in terms of background checks,
but weíve got more to do when it comes to enforcement.

But I also share your
belief that weapons that were designed for soldiers in war theaters
donít belong on our streets. And so what Iím trying to do is to get
a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence
generally. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons
ban reintroduced, but part of it is also looking at other sources of
the violence -- because, frankly, in my hometown of Chicago thereís
an awful lot of violence, and theyíre not using AK-47s, theyíre
using cheap handguns.

And so what can we do to
intervene, to make sure that young people have opportunity? That
our schools are working? That if thereís violence on the streets,
that working with faith groups and law enforcement, we can catch it
before it gets out of control.

And so what I want is a
comprehensive strategy. Part of it is seeing if we can get
automatic weapons that kill folks in amazing numbers out of the
hands of criminals and the mentally ill. But part of it is also
going deeper and seeing if we can get into these communities and
making sure we catch violent impulses before they occur.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Yes,
Iím not in favor of new pieces of legislation on guns and taking
guns away or making certain guns illegal. We, of course, don't want
to have automatic weapons, and that's already illegal in this
country to have automatic weapons.

What I believe is we
have to do, as the President mentioned towards the end of his
remarks there, which is to make enormous efforts to enforce the gun
laws that we have and to change the culture of violence we have.
And you ask how are we going to do that? And there are a number of
things. He mentioned good schools. I totally agree. We were able
to drive our schools to be number one in the nation in my state, and
I believe if we do a better job in education, weíll give people the
hope and opportunity they deserve and perhaps less violence from
that.

But let me mention
another thing, and that is parents. We need moms and dads helping
raise kids. Wherever possible, the benefit of having two parents in
the home -- and that's not always possible -- a lot of great single
moms, single dads, but, gosh, to tell our kids that before they have
babies, they ought to think about getting married to someone, that's
a great idea, because if thereís a two-parent family, the prospect
of living in poverty goes down dramatically. The opportunities that
the child will be able to achieve increase dramatically. So we can
make changes in the way our culture works to help bring people away
from violence and give them opportunity and bring them in the
American system.

The greatest failure
weíve had with regards to gun violence in some respects is what is
known as Fast and Furious, which was a program under this
administration. And how it worked exactly I think we don't know
precisely, but where thousands of automatic and AK-47-type weapons
were given to people that ultimately gave them to drug lords that
used those weapons against their own citizens and killed Americans
with them. And this was a program of the government. For what
purpose it was put in place, I can't imagine. But itís one of the
great tragedies related to violence in our society which has
occurred during this administration, which I think the American
people would like to understand fully.
Itís been investigated to a degree, but the administration has
carried out executive privilege to prevent all the information from
coming out. Iíd like to understand, who were the ones that did
this, what the idea was behind it, why it led to the violence.
Thousands of guns going to Mexico --

THE PRESIDENT: Candy.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: --
drug lords --

MS. CROWLEY: Governor,
if I could, the question was about these assault weapons that once
were banned and are no longer banned. I know that you signed an
assault weapons ban when you were in Massachusetts. Obviously with
this question, you no longer do support that. Why is that? Given
the kind of violence that we see sometimes with these mass killings,
why is that, that youíve changed your mind?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Well,
Candy, actually, in my state, the pro-gun folks and the anti-gun
folks came together and put together a piece of legislation. And
itís referred to as an assault weapon ban, but it had, at the
signing of the bill, both the pro-gun and the anti-gun people came
together because it provided opportunities for both that both
wanted. There were hunting opportunities, for instance, that hadnít
previously been available and so forth. So it was a mutually agreed
upon piece of legislation.

Thatís what we need more
of, Candy. What we have right now in Washington is a place thatís
gridlocked.

MS. CROWLEY: So if you
could get people to agree to it, youíd be for it?

THE PRESIDENT: Candy.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: We
havenít had the leadership in Washington to work at a bipartisan
basis. I was able to do that in my state and bring these two
together.

THE PRESIDENT: Candy.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President.

THE PRESIDENT: First of
all, I think Governor Romney was for an assault weapons ban before
he was against it. And he said that the reason he changed his mind
was, in part, because he was seeking the endorsement of the National
Rifle Association. So thatís on the record.

But I think that one
area we agree on is the importance of parents and the importance of
schools -- because I do believe that if our young people have
opportunity, then theyíre less likely to engage in these kind of
violent acts. Weíre not going to eliminate everybody who is
mentally disturbed, and weíve got to make sure that they donít get
weapons, but we can make a difference in terms of ensuring that
every young person in America, regardless of where they come from,
what they look like, have a chance to succeed.

And, Candy, we havenít
had a chance to talk about education much, but I think it is very
important to understand that the reforms weíve put in place, working
with 46 governors around the country, are seeing schools that are
some of the ones that are the toughest for kids starting to succeed
-- weíre starting to see gains in math and science.

When it comes to
community colleges, we are setting up programs, including with
Nassau Community College, to retrain workers, including young people
who may have dropped out of school, but now are getting another
chance -- training them for the jobs that exist right now. And in
fact, employers are looking for skilled workers, and so weíre
matching them up, giving them access to higher education. As I
said, we have made sure that millions of young people are able to
get an education that they werenít able to get before. Now --

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, I have to move you along here. You said you wanted to get
this question so we need to do it here.

THE PRESIDENT: Just one
second, because this is important. This is part of the choice in
this election. When Governor Romney was asked whether teachers --
hiring more teachers was important to growing our economy, Governor
Romney said that doesnít grow our economy.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, it was guns here so I need to move us along. The
question was guns so let me --

THE PRESIDENT: But this
will make a difference in terms of whether or not we can move this
economy forward for these young people and reduce our violence.

MS. CROWLEY: Okay.
Thank you so much.

I want to ask Carol
Goldberg to stand up because she gets to a question that both these
men have been passionate about. Itís for Governor Romney.

Q: The outsourcing of
American jobs overseas has taken a toll on our economy. What plans
do you have to put back and keep jobs here in the United States?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Boy,
great question, an important question because youíre absolutely
right. The place where weíve seen manufacturing go has been China.
China is now the largest manufacturer in the world -- used to be the
United States of America. A lot of good people have lost jobs. A
half a million manufacturing jobs have been lost in the last four
years -- thatís total over the last four years. One of the reasons
for that is that people think itís more attractive in some cases to
go offshore than to stay here. We have made it less attractive for
enterprises to stay here than to go offshore from time to time.

What I will do as
President is make sure it's more attractive to come to America
again. This is the way we're going to create jobs in this country.
It's not by trickle-down government, saying we're going to take more
money from people and hire more government workers, raise more
taxes, put in place more regulations. Trickle-down government has
never worked here, has never worked anywhere.

I want to make America
the most attractive place in the world for entrepreneurs, for small
business, for big business to invest and grow in America. Now,
we're going to have to make sure that as we trade with other nations
that they play by the rules, and China hasn't. One of the reasons
-- or one of the ways they don't play by the rules is artificially
holding down the value of their currency. Because if they put their
currency down low, that means their prices on their goods are low,
and that makes them advantageous in the marketplace. We lose sales
and manufacturers here in the U.S. making the same products can't
compete.

China has been a
currency manipulator for years and years and years. And the
President has a regular opportunity to label them as a currency
manipulator, but refuses to do so. On day one, I will label China a
currency manipulator, which will allow me as President to be able to
put in place, if necessary, tariffs where I believe that they are
taking unfair advantage of our manufacturers.

So we're going to make
sure the people we trade with around the world play by the rules.
But let me not just stop there. Don't forget what's key to bringing
back jobs here is not just finding someone else to punish -- and I'm
going to be strict with people who we trade with to make sure they
follow the law and play by the rules -- but it's also to make
America the most attractive place in the world for businesses of all
kinds. That's why I want to bring down the tax rates on small
employers, big employers, so they want to be here.

Canada's tax rate on
companies is now 15 percent. Ours is 35 percent. So if you're
starting a business, where would you rather start it? We have to be
competitive if we're going to create more jobs here. Regulations
have quadrupled -- the rate of regulations quadrupled under this
President. I've talked to small businesses across the country.
They say, we feel like we're under attack from our own government.
I want to make sure that regulators see their job as encouraging
small business, not crushing it. And there's no question but that
Obamacare has been an extraordinary deterrent to enterprises of all
kinds hiring people.

My priority is making
sure that we get more people hired. If we have more people hired,
if we get back manufacturing jobs, if we get back all kinds of jobs
into this country, then you're going to see rising incomes again.
The reason incomes are down is because unemployment is so high. I
know what it takes to get this to happen. And my plan will do
that. And one part of it is to make sure that we keep China playing
by the rules. Thank you.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, two minutes here because we are then going to go to our
last question.

THE PRESIDENT: We need
to create jobs here. And both Governor Romney and I agree actually
that we should lower our corporate tax rate. It's too high. But
there's a difference in terms of how we would do it. I want to
close loopholes that allow companies to deduct expenses when they
move to China that allow them to profit offshore and not have to get
taxed, so they have tax advantages offshore. All those changes in
our tax code would make a difference.

Now, Governor Romney
actually wants to expand those tax breaks. One of his big ideas
when it comes to corporate tax reform would be to say if you invest
overseas, you make profits overseas, you don't have to pay U.S.
taxes. But of course, if you're a small business or a mom-and-pop
business or a big business starting up here, you've got to pay even
the reduced rate that Governor Romney is talking about. And it's
estimated that that will create 800,000 new jobs -- the problem is
they'll be in China or India or Germany. That's not the way we're
going to create jobs here.

The way we're going to
create jobs here is not just to change our tax code, but also to
double our exports. And we are on pace to double our exports, one
of the commitments I made when I was President. That's creating
tens of thousands of jobs all across the country. That's why we've
kept on pushing trade deals, but trade deals that make sure that
American workers and American businesses are getting a good deal.

Now, Governor Romney
talked about China, as I already indicated. In the private sector,
Governor Romney's company invested in what were called "pioneers of
outsourcing." That's not my phrase. It's what reporters called
it. And as far as currency manipulation, the currency has actually
gone up 11 percent since Iíve been President because we have pushed
them hard. And weíve put unprecedented trade pressure on China.
That's why exports have significantly increased under my
presidency. That's going to help to create jobs here.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, we have a really short time for a quick discussion here.
iPad, the Macs, the iPhones -- they are all manufactured in China.
One of the major reasons is labor is so much cheaper here. How do
you convince a great American company to bring that manufacturing
back here?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: The
answer is very straightforward: We can compete with anyone in the
world as long as the playing field is level. China has been
cheating over the years -- one, by holding down the value of their
currency; number two, by stealing our intellectual property -- our
designs, our patents, our technology. Thereís even an Apple store
in China that's a counterfeit Apple store selling counterfeit
goods. They hack into our computers. We will have to have people
play on a fair basis. That's number one.

Number two, we have to
make America the most attractive place for entrepreneurs, for people
who want to expand a business. That's what brings jobs in. The
Presidentís characterization of my tax plan is --

THE PRESIDENT: How much
time you got, Candy?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: -- is
completely -- is completely --

MS. CROWLEY: Let me go
to the --

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: -- is
completely false. Let me tell you.

MS. CROWLEY: Let me go
to the President here because we really are --

THE PRESIDENT: All
right, Iím --

MS. CROWLEY: -- because
we really are running out of time. And the question is, can we ever
get -- we can't get wages like that. It can't be sustained here.

THE PRESIDENT: Candy,
there are some jobs that are not going to come back because they're
low-wage, low-skill jobs. I want high-wage, high-skill jobs.
That's why we have to emphasize manufacturing. That's why we have
to invest in advanced manufacturing. That's why weíve got to make
sure that weíve got the best science and research in the world.

And when we talk about
deficits, if weíre adding to our deficit for tax cuts for folks who
don't need them, and weíre cutting investments in research and
science that will create the next Apple, create the next new
innovation that will sell products around the world, we will lose
that race. If weíre not training engineers to make sure that they
are equipped here in this country, then companies wonít come here.
Those investments are whatís going to help to make sure that we
continue to lead this world economy not just next year, but 10 years
from now, 50 years from now, 100 years from now.

MS. CROWLEY: Thanks,
Mr. President.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:
Government does not create jobs.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor
Romney.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:
Government does not create jobs.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor
Romney, I want to introduce you to Barry Green because heís going to
have the last question to you first.

GOVERNOR ROMNEY:
Barry? Oh, thereís Barry. Hi, Barry.

Q: Hi, Governor. I
think this is a tough question. Each of you, what do you believe is
the biggest misperception that the American people have about you as
a man and a candidate? Using specific examples, can you take this
opportunity to debunk that misperception and set us straight?

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Thank
you, and that's an opportunity for me, and I appreciate it. In the
nature of a campaign, it seems that some campaigns are focused on
attacking a person rather than prescribing their own future and the
things theyíd like to do. In the course of that, I think the
Presidentís campaign has tried to characterize me as someone whoís
very different than who I am.
I care about 100 percent of the American people. I want 100 percent
of the American people to have a bright and prosperous future. I
care about our kids. I understand what it takes to make a bright
and prosperous future for America again. I spent my life in the
private sector, not in government. Iím a guy who wants to help,
with the experience I have, the American people.

My passion probably
flows from the fact that I believe in God and I believe weíre all
children of the same God. I believe we have a responsibility to
care for one another. I served as a missionary for my church. I
served as a pastor in my congregation for about 10 years. Iíve sat
across the table from people who are out of work, and worked with
them to try and find new work, or to help them through tough times.

I went to the Olympics
when they were in trouble to try and get them on track. And as
governor of my state, I was able to get 100 percent of my people
insured, all my kids, about 98 percent of the adults; was able also
to get our schools ranked at number one in the nation, so 100
percent of our kids would have a bright opportunity for a future.

I understand that I can
get this country on track again. We don't have to settle for what
weíre going through. We don't have to settle for gasoline at $4.
We don't have to settle for unemployment at a chronically high
level. We don't have to settle for 47 million people on food
stamps. We don't have to settle for 50 percent of kids coming out
of college not able to get work. We don't have to settle for 23
million people struggling to find a good job.

If I become President,
Iíll get America working again. I will get us on track to a
balanced budget. The President hasnít. I will. Iíll make sure we
can reform Medicare and Social Security to preserve them for coming
generations. The President said he would. He didnít.

MS. CROWLEY: Governor
--

GOVERNOR ROMNEY: Iíll
get our incomes up. And by the way, Iíve done these things. I
served as governor and showed I could get them done.

MS. CROWLEY: Mr.
President, last two minutes belong to you.

THE PRESIDENT: Barry, I
think a lot of this campaign, maybe over the last four years, has
been devoted to this notion that I think government creates jobs,
that that somehow is the answer. That's not what I believe.

I believe that the free
enterprise system is the greatest engine of prosperity the world has
ever known. I believe in self-reliance and individual initiative,
and risk-takers being rewarded. But I also believe that everybody
should have a fair shot and everybody should do their fair share,
and everybody should play by the same rules, because that's how our
economy is grown. That's how we built the worldís greatest middle
class. And that is part of what's at stake in this election.
There's a fundamentally different vision about how we move our
country forward.

I believe Governor
Romney is a good man, loves his family, cares about his faith. But
I also believe that when he said behind closed doors that 47 percent
of the country consider themselves victims, who refuse personal
responsibility, think about who he was talking about -- folks on
Social Security who have worked all their lives; veterans who have
sacrificed for this country; students who are out there trying to
hopefully advance their own dreams but also this countryís dreams;
soldiers who are overseas fighting for us right now; people who are
working hard every day, paying payroll tax, gas taxes, but don't
make enough income.

And I want to fight for
them. That's what Iíve been doing for the last four years, because
if they succeed, I believe the country succeeds.

And when my grandfather
fought in World War II, and he came back, and he got a GI Bill and
that allowed him to go to college, that wasnít a handout. That was
something that advanced the entire country. And I want to make sure
that the next generation has those same opportunities. That's why
Iím asking for your vote, and that's why Iím asking for another four
years.

MS. CROWLEY: President
Obama, Governor Romney, thank you for being here tonight. On that
note, we have come to an end of this town hall debate. Our thanks
to the participants for their time, and to the people of Hofstra
University for their hospitality. The next and final debate takes
place Monday night at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Don't
forget to watch. Election Day is three weeks from today. Don't
forget to vote.